The 'Sportsmen'
5* WAS/SEA OVER 1 unit
5* DAYTON+ 1 unit
5* HOUSTON+ 1 unit
BEN BURNS
NBA
SONICS
Game: Washington Wizards vs. Seattle SuperSonics
Prediction: Seattle SuperSonics Reason: I'm taking the points with SEATTLE. The Wizards, who got crushed by 20 points late last night, are just 7-13 SU the last 20 times that they played the second of back to back games. A closer look shows that only three of those seven wins came by greater than seven points. Last night's loss came against a Portland team which these same Sonics had beaten easily here at Seattle the previous night. Now, playing the second of back to back road games, the Wizards are being asked to lay more than a touchdown against a rested and revenge-minded Seattle squad. I feel that's asking far too much. I successfully played on the Sonics in their win over the Blazers, stating at the time that they'd be happy to "take a step down in class" to see Portland. It wasn't that I didn't respect the Blazers, as I actually like their team these days. Rather, it was because Seattle's previous string of games had come against the Nuggest, Suns, Lakers and Jazz, three of which came on the road. While the Wizards have played well this season, given their circumstances, they're still not currently in the class of the four 'heavyweights' listed above. In fact, as we saw last night, they weren't even in the same class as the Blazers. The Wizards closed as slight favorites for last night's loss but they're also just 4-6 ATS the last 10 times that they were listed as road favorites in the -6.5 to -9 range though. During the same stretch, including Monday's victory, the Sonics were 9-5-1 ATS when listed as home underdogs in the +6.5 to +9 range. With the Sonics likely leaving town at the end of the season, the Seattle fans are starting to come out in full force. Off a big win, it'll be more of the same tonight. In Monday's game they chanted: "Save our Sonics..." any chance they could. As Kevin Durant commented: "I heard them and that's something I love. The crowd was into it tonight and that shows they're going to stick behind us." With the support of their loyal fans behind them, look for Durant and co. to build momentum off the win over the Blazers as they string together back to back strong efforts and improve to 5-1 ATS when playing a home game with an over/under line ranging from 200 to 204.5*Best Bet
OVER Knicks/Heat
Game: Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks
Prediction: over Reason: I'm playing on the Heat and the Knicks to finsh OVER the number. I'm aware that the Heat are dealing with major injury issues and that they've really struggled to score points recently. That's already reflected in the line though, as tonight's over/under line is roughly 10 points lower than it was when these same two teams faced each other exactly two weeks ago. I feel that gives us excellent value with the OVER. A closer look at Miami's recent games show that they all came against teams that are/were still fighting for the playoffs, or at the very least, entertaining the idea. However, tonight they'll be facing a team that, like themselves, is completely out of the playoff race. I expect that to result in a lack of defense and a relatively high-scoring game. Since the meeting two weeks ago, the Knicks have faced five different opponents. All five of those games produced a minimum of 197 points and the two games which came against other teams which had no chance of the playoffs (Minnesota and Memphis) saw final combined scores of 226 and 207, respectively. Including those results, the Knicks have now seen the OVER go 16-9 their last 25 games. Note that the OVER is also 9-4 their last 13 games against teams from the Southeast. Meanwhile, we find the OVER at a perfect 7-0 on the season when the Heat have played a road game where the over/under line ranged from 185 to 189.5. With defense not being a high priority, I expect tonight's final combined score to finish above the relatively low number once again. *Blue Chip
NHL
UNDER Wild/Oilers
Game: Edmonton Oilers vs. Minnesota Wild
Prediction: under Reason: I'm playing on the Wild and Oilers to finish UNDER the total. These teams played a high-scoring game against each other at Edmonton a couple of nights ago but I'm expecting a much tighter and lower-scoring contest this evening. Yesterday, I successfully played on the Rangers and Flyers to finish UNDER the number. That game had some similarities to this evening's game as it was the also the second game of a home and home series. The Flyers and Rangers finished 'over' the total in the first game but the second was a defensive affair with only two goals scored in regulation. I've found that happens fairly regularly (first game is high-scoring, second is low-scoring) in these home and home matchups, particularly as the playoffs draw closer and the games become significantly more meaningful. A closer look at Monday's game shows that the Oilers scored three goals on their first four shots. That forced the Wild to somewhat abandon their gameplan and caused a much more wide-open game. Minnesota coach Jacques Lemaire was quoted as saying: "It didn't look good....We were not ready to play. Period. Not ready to play. We played a little bit in the third because some of the guys were upset and they had to do something." That being said, I don't expect the Oilers to score three goals on their first four shots again this evening. In fact, the Wild have limited opponents to just 2.4 goals on home ice this season and they allowed just one goal in their last two games here combined. Those games finished with scores of 2-0 and 3-1. Including those results, the Wild have scored three goals or less in eight straight home games. Look for another low-scoring affair. *northwest division total of the month
PASS COLLEGE BASKETBALL
JEFFERSONSPORTS
NHL
Vancouver under 5.5
NBA
Bulls+7
Celtics-6.5
Toronto-2
NCAA
Virg Tech-8
Virg-6
DR BOB
2* Sac -10 or less
Teddy June
10* Private Players Club Selection
Toronto Raptors minus the points over Detroit Pistons.
I currently have this line at -1.5 and have this rated at 10* up to -3.
VEGAS RUNNER
UNDER 144 HOU/TUL...
This is a "Steam Play" that I just received and was informed that they are about to send the order out immediately...I have a vested interest on the side of this match-up and because I did a lot of work and made this the CBI GAME of the MONTH, I also felt that any Value definately was with the Under so when this call came in, I went ahead and made it a 1* Client Wager also....Best of Luck, VR
Josh Dean
Pacers
Wizards
Chi/Col Under 5.5
Free B: Char/Lal Under
Young Guns
5* GOY Phx +5 '
3* Miami +7
3* Houston Cougers +3 '
Great Lakes
3*Cavs
2*Atl
2*Boston
Will Cover
3*NY Knicks
2*Boston
2*Sac
3G Sports
3*Nets
2*Va Tech
2*Ohio st
Scott Landau
3*Boston
2*Twolves
2*Hornets
Billy Coleman
3*Virginia
2*Ohio St
2*Va tech
Rocco Vincintore Guaranteed Selections
1000* NIT PLAY OF THE YEAR
Virginia Tech -8
Tom Freese No Brainer
Vir Tech